Chapter 290 - Fragile Friendship (2/2)

Xiao Chen went back to his lodgings where he heard shrill squabbling voices from outside.

“YOU! IT MUST BE YOU! YOU GREEDY CAT! HOW COULD YOU DENY!”

“IT’S NOT ME! HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME!”

Xiao Chen walked in and saw Murong Xian’er and Zhiluan bickering. “What’s wrong with you two?”

A bristling Murong Xian’er scampered over to him and thrust a finger at Zhiluan angrily. “The greedy cat has eaten all my fruits!”

“NONSENSE! I HAVE NOT EATEN YOUR MAGIC FRUITS!” Zhiluan’s voice thundered lividly.

Xiao Chen frowned at Zhiluan. “Xian’er gives you one from her share every day, you lousy cat. You shouldn’t have stolen from her.”

“D*MNED BOY! EVEN YOU DO NOT TRUST ME? I HAVE JUST SAID THAT I DID NOT STEAL FROM HER!” Zhiluan bellowed, on the verge of tears.

“It can only be you! Even Big Brother says so! To think that you’d even try to deny! Bad cat! Greedy cat! Humph!”

Xiao Chen stroked her hair and consoled her. “All right, all right. It’s fine.” He looked at Zhiluan. “You should have just admitted to eating the fruit. Never mind then. Come with me. I need you somewhere else.”

“I DID NOT STEAL ANYTHING! THERE’S NO WAY I’D DENY STEALING ANYTHING!”

“It must be you! Humph!”

“NO, IT’S NOT!”

“IT MUST BE YOU!”

Feeling nauseous at the squabbling pair, he barked, “ALL RIGHT! ENOUGH! Stop, you lousy cat! Stop bullying Xian’er!”

Zhiluan’s face fumed with rage that it grew red and purple. Its voice trembled with fury, “Very well. I’m leaving! I’ve had enough and I’m not coming back!” It flapped its wings and flew out the window.

“GO! JUST YOU GO AND DON’T EVER COME BACK! I don’t want to see you again!”

But conjurers and spellslingers from everywhere have all flocked to Tianyuan City for the tournament, making it all the more dangerous for Zhiluan to be roaming alone. “Come back, you bloody cat! Do you want to be caught and chopped up as medicine ingredients?!”

“SO BE IT! IT WAS I WHO HAD SAVED YOU, BOY! IT WAS I WHO HAD REVIVED YOU WHEN YOU HAVE FAINTED AT THE SNOWFIELDS OF THE THOUSAND SUMMITS MOUNTAIN! YET THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME! ENOUGH! I’M LEAVING!”

Before Xiao Chen knew it, Zhiluan was already missing.

Xiao Chen sighed with dawning comprehension. “So, it was Zhiluan who had tried to save me when I was gravely injured by the assassins…”

“Humph!” Murong Xian’er grumbled, “What a terrible cat! It was he who had stolen my fruit, yet he dares to deny doing it! How could he be so petty! Especially when I wasn’t really going to punish him!”

Xiao Chen chuckled. “All right now. He is nothing if not an utter scaredy-cat. He’ll be back in a while.”

The sun was shifting in the western skies after four hours, still, Zhiluan was nowhere to be seen. Murong Xian’er gazed into the sky, hoping to find Zhiluan flying back, but to no avail. “The greedy cat’s not back, Big Brother,” she whimpered, “Please go out to find him, Big Brother. I’m getting worried…”

Xiao Chen was equally worried himself. With the next phase of the Immortal’s Sword Assembly in the offing, the streets of Tianyuan City were crammed with conjurers and cultivators from everywhere, including healers. He gave Xian’er a comforting smile. “Very well. Go find Senior Zi Mo if you need anything. But do not run around.” He flew into the sky in a bolt of light and zipped towards downtown.

He went to the busier areas of the city and began asking around if anyone had seen a cat with a lingzhi plant on its head. He was about to enter an apothecary, one of the many he had been asking around, when he saw two youngsters, both clad in robes of red, walking out with packages of herbs while giggling among themselves.

“Heh heh heh! What luck indeed! With this thousand-year-old Spirited Lingzhi, Teacher would be able to brew a Nirvana Pill!”

“Shhhh! Quiet! This is a treasure of a lifetime! We mustn’t let anyone hear us!”

But their whispers did not escape Xiao Chen’s Divine Sense. He chased after them and stopped them.

“WHERE IS IT!”